Pressure-governor.



G. M. RIGHARDS.

PRESSURE GOVERNOR.

APPIJOATION FILED DE(1.18, 1907.

Patented June 21, 1910.

3 SHEETS-411E111 1.

G. M. RICHARDS.

PRESSURE GOVERNOR.

APPLICATION FILED 10110.18, 1901.

962,100, Patented June 21, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fq'q. 4.

G. M. RICHARDS.

PRESSURE GOVERNOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.18, 1907.

962,100. Patented June 21, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I 1 f %Z 6 i I L A W 1 W '1 66. ]nve/z?fif GEORGE m; :arcna'nns, or'nnrn, PEnNsYLvAnIAJ PRESSURE GOVERNOR.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June Application filed December 18, i907. Serial'No. 407,018.

To all wit may concern:

Be it known that I, Gannon M. RICHARDS,

. a citizen of the United States, residing at Erie, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Im rovement in Pressure-Governors, of which t 1e following is-a specification.-

This invention relates to fluid pressure governors of the type employed for regulating the supply of motive fluid to pumping engines for controlling the speed of the engine as required under the varying conditions of load thereon due to fluctuations in pressure'of the pumped fluid, and more particularly to governors which are designed to increase the supply of motive fluid to the engine in proportion as the pressure of the pumped fluid increases up to a predetermined limit to keep the speed of the engine practically constant notwithstanding the increasing load thereon, and to then regulate the motive fluid supply so that the engine will maintain such predetermined pressure without exceeding it, and to also vary the steam supply as requlred to secure these results regardless of fluctuations in the steam pressure.

The objects of the invention are to produce an eflicient and practical governor of this sort in which a slngle piston or motor moved in one direction by the pumped fluid pressure actuates a valve in opposite direc tions to increase and decrease the motive fluid supply; to provide the governor with means for regulating the movement 'of the motive fluid valve with relation to that of the governor motor, so that the valvewill govern the motive fluid supply indirect proportion to the fluctuations of' load on the engine, and'for varying the stroke of the governor piston or motor under a given pressure of the pumped fluid and spring resistance; and also to improve such governors in the other respects hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

' In the accompanying drawings, consisting of three sheets: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a fluid pressure governor. embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof similar to Fig. 1, but showing a different position of the parts. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan of the normal speed stop device. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the governor. Fig.6 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of a modified construction.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures. I

s. 1-4, A rep- Referring especially to Fig resents an ordinary balanced valve and B its casing. The valve is located in the supply trolling the supply thereto of steam or other motive fluid. The governor is especially suited for use with steam engines for driving air 'compressors,'and for the sake of clearness, the motive fluid will be hereinafter referred to as steam, and the pumped fluid as air, although the invention is not restricted to such. use. The stem at of the steam valve projects out of the valve casing for connection with the governor motor.

'0 represents a governor motor to whichair is admitted from the receiver or other source supplied by the pump and at a pressure equal to or proportioned to that produced by the pump. The motor shown con: sists of a cylinder which is provided at its lower end with an'inlet connection 0 for the airand, is sup orted by an arm or bracket 0. projecting rom the valve casing B, and a piston 0 which is movable in said cylinder and is. provided with a rod 0 rojecting through the u per end of'the cy inder and connected tot e steam valve by mechanism preferably constructed as follows: D represents a lever, hereinafter called the governor lever, which is suitably fulcrumed between its ends ona fulcrum post at mounted on the valve casing B. One end of this lever is pivoted, as shown, or in any other suitable pipe leading to the pumping engine for conmanner, to the piston rod of the governor motor, and itsother end is preferably forked and provided between the branches of the fork with an anti-friction roller d. An arm d projects at an angle from the lever 'between its ends. 1

E represents a second lever, hereinafter called the valve lever, which is suitably fulcrumed to the fulcrum post d and is pivotedat one end, as shown, or in any other suitable manner, to the stem of the steam valve. .The opposite end of the valve lever'is preferably provided with a screw 6, or other suitable adjustable stop adapted tostrike an adjacent projection or part on the fillcrum post' to prevent-the complete closin of the steam valve, as hereinafter describe F represents a cam or connecting piece, one end of which is suitably pivoted to the valve lever, and the other end of which enters the forked end of the governor lever and'is preferably provided with a cam slot f in which the anti-friction roller d works and which has an end or portion curved concentrically with the pivot of the connectin piece, and another end or portion incline relative to the curved portion. A link G plvoted at opposite ends to the connecting piece F and to the arm (1 of the governor ever causes said lever and connecting piece to swing together, but in intersectin arcs. The link G consists of two opposite y screw-threaded partsconnected by a screw nut, or 1t is otherwise made adjustable in length for settmg the connecting piece in different relations to the governor lever. When the parts of the governor are in the normal or initial position, the roller (1 is in the curved portlon of the cam slot 7, as shown in Fig. 1. If the governor piston is raised the roller at the end of the governor lever will descend and, pressing on the connecting piece, Wlll lower the valve lever and open the valve A. The slotted end of the connecting piece Wlll, however, be drawn over toward the fulcrum of the governor lever by the movement of this lever, and when the roller enters the inclined end of the slot, as shown in Fig. 2, if the u ward movement of the piston continues, t e roller will descend in the inclined end of the slot, while the connecting piece and the valve to which it is connected will be free to rise and will be lifted by the steam ressure on the valve so as to move the va ve toward its seat and decrease the supply of steam to the engine. The parts of the mechanism are preferabl so proportioned and arranged that the s otted end of the connecting1 piece will move laterally twice as fast as t e roller descends, and the inclined and curved portions of the slot are arranged at such an angle to each other that the connecting piece will rise at the same speed as the roller descends, thus making the motion of the valve toward and from its seat uniform. By adjusting the length of the link G to set the connecting piece with the angle of its slot initially nearer to or farther from the roller, the valve can be reversed when it has been opened to any' desired extent, thereb enabhng the supply of steam to be regu ated properly to insure .a desired reduction in speed of the engine to prevent an increase in the air pressure. The

connectin piece preferably has the cam slot in which the roller d works, but as it is held against the roller at all tlmes b the steam pressure on the valve, it woul operate in the same manner if it only had a Cilm end shaped like the lower edge of the s 0t. I v The mechanism'shown for opposing the movement of the governor piston is constructed as follows: H H re resent sprin arranged on opposite sides 0? the motor cy inder O and connected at their lower ends to arms 72. projecting from the lower end of the cylinder, and at their u per ends-to a yoke h provided at its mid e with projections bearing on a nut h which is adjustable on a screw-threaded artof the piston rod. The lower ends of t e s rings are preferably adjustably connected to the arms h by nuts k screwed on the threaded lower ends of the sprin s. By means of these ad'ustable connections the initial position 0 the motor piston and valve can be changed with or without varying the tension of the sprin s H. In the initial position the valve shou d be open just enough, as shown in Fig. 1, for driving the engine at the desired speed when not doing any work. I, Fig. 4, represents internally threaded sleeves screwed on the springs H for regulating the extensibility thereof. B screwingthese sleeves farther onto or o of the springs, the operative length thereof will be decreased or increased accordingly, so as to secure a shorter or longer movement of the governor piston and valve under a given air pressure and spring resistance on the piston.

K, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, represents a normal speed sto which is pivoted on the upper end of t e governor cylinder and has a hooked end adapted to be swung under an adjustable nut k on the piston rod to limit the downward movement of the piston to prevent the closing of the valve beyond the normal position shown in Fig. 1. The stop can be swung out, as shown in Fig. 2, to allow the piston to descend farther and more nearly close the valve. Any other suitable stop could be used for this purpose.

The operation of the vernor is as follows: In the starting of t e engine, the normal speed stop K occupies the position shown in Fig. 1, beneath the stop nut k,

and the nut 1s adjusted to tgl'ive the proper valve opening to produce mal s eed o the engine. The connecting piece occupies the position shown in Fig. 1 with the roller d in the inner end of the curved part of the cam slot f. As the air pressure increases the governor piston will rise and through the connecting mechanism 0 en the valve wider so that the speed of e engine will be uniform notwithstanding the'mcreasing air pressure and load. The upward movement of the governor piston will also swin the connectin piece F in: wardly, as exp ained. When t e desired air pressure is attained, the link G is adjusted to place the angle of the slot in the connecting piece beneath the roller d, as shown in Fig. 2. If the pressure continues to rise and lift the governor piston,'the roller will descend in the inclined ortion of the cam slot and the valve wi 1 be reversed and moved toward its seat, as explained, thus reducing the speed of the engine to such an extent as to hold the air pressure at the dedesired norpermitting the latter to descend and the valve to close until arrested by the stop e. This stop is adjusted to ermit the valve-to nearly but not complete y close, so that it will supply just steam enough to keep the engine in motion. Before stopping the en- 'gine the normal speed stop K is again swung into position beneath the cooperating nut is,

so that when next starting up the engine, it will run at the desired normal s eed.

The fulcrum post (1 upon whlch the governor and valve levels are fulcrumed could be rigidly mounted and the governor would operate as described, but thepost is preferably provided with a piston L movable vertically in a cylinder Z on the valve casing to which the steam pressure is admitted beneath the piston from the valve casing B by a suitable passage Z. The steam pressure on the piston is opposed by suitable means,

such as a spring Z surrounding the post between the piston and a screw cap Z on the cylinder Z by which the pressure of the spring can be regulated. The spring is adjusted to hold the fulcrum post in an intermediate position under a normal steam pressure. Should the steam pressure rise above or fall below the normal, the fulcrum post and the mechanism carried thereby will be raised or lowered accordingly, so that the valve will be moved toward or from its seat to prevent the fluctuation in the steam pressure from changing the speed of the engine. The steam-operated fulcrum post operates in conjunction with the air-operated governor piston. It can be used or not, as desired. I

The governor is preferably constructed as above described, but the connecting mechanism between the governor motor and the steam valve could be of other construction and operate in a similar manner, as illustrated, for example, in Fig. '6. In this construction B represents the valve casing, C the governor motor, D the lever connected to the motor piston, E the lever connected to the valve, and F the connecting piece. The latter is pivoted to the valve lever, bears on a cam-faced nut i adjustable on a screwthreaded portion of the governor lever D',

and is connected by a link f to an arm of the governor lever. The nut has a, face curved concentrically with the pivot of the connecting piece F, and a face at an angle of about 45 therewith. The action of this connecting piece is similar to the other. It will be moved over the cam nut b the move ment of the governor lever an will open the valve as long as it bears on the curved face of the nut, but will. allow the valve to close when it rides down the inclined face of the nut. The nut can be adjusted relative to the connecting piece to regulate the opening of the valve. -A s ring m is preferably, though not necessarily, employed for holding the connecting piece against the camfaced nut.

-I claim as my invention:

1. In a pressure governor, the combinationof a valve, a part operated by fluid pressure mechanism connecting said fluidoperate part and said valve and including a device which is shifted in position by the movement of said fluid-operated part and b its position causes said valve to move wit or in opposition to said fluid-operated part, and means for adjusting the position of said device relative to said fluid-operated part, substantially as set forth.

2. In a pressure governor, the combination of a valve, a motor operated by fluid pressure, levers connected to said motor and to said valve, and a oonnectin device between said levers which is shi ted by said motor and by its position causes said valve to move with or in opposition to .said lever connected to the motor, substantially as set forth.

3. In a pressure governor, the combination of a valve, a motor having a part moved in one direction by fluid pressure, levers connected to said movable part of the motor and to said valve, and a connecting device between said levers including a cam connected to one lever and a-spart connected to the other lever and bearing. on said cam and connected with said movablepart of the motor for changing the relation of said cam and bearin part of the connectingdevice, whereby said valve is moved first in one direction and then in the opposite direction by the movement of said motor part in one direction, substantially as set forth.

4. In a pressure. governor, the combination of a valve, a motor operated by fluid pressure, levers connected to said motor and to said valve, a connecting device between said levers consisting of a cam connected to one lever and a part connected to the other lever and bearing on said cam, a connection between one part of said connecting device and the lever connected to said motor for moving saidpart, and means for adjusting said cam relative to the part bearing thereon, substantially as set forth.

5. In a pressure governor, the combination of a valve, a motor operated by fluid pressure, connecting mechanism between said motor and valve for moving said-valve first in one direction and then allowing said valve to be moved by' the pressure thereon in the opposite direction during the movefirst in one direction andthen a lowing said valve to be moved by the pressure thereon in the opposite direction durin the movement in one direction of the mova le part of sald motor, means for resisting the movement of said movable part of the motor by said fluid pressure, and means for varying the travel of said movable art of the motor under a given pressure o the fiuld and o posing ressure of said reslsting means, su stantia y as set forth.

7.In a pressure governor, the combination of a valve, a motor operated by fluid pressure, connecting mechanism between said motor and valve for opening and closing said valve, a stop which normall limits the closing movement of said va ve and which is adapted to be rendered inactive,

and a second stop which is inactive when said first stop is in operative position and is brought into action to limit the closing movement of said valve by placing said first stop out of action, substantlally as set forth.

8. In a pressure governor for pumpin engines, the combination of a valve contro ling the supply of motive fluid to the engine, a motor operated by the pum ed fluid, levers connected to said motor an to said valve, and a connecting device between said levers which is shifted by said motor and by its position causes said valve to move with or in opposition to said lever connected to the motor, substantially as set forth.

9. In a pressure governor, the combination of a valve, a motor operated by fluid pressure, connecting mechanism between said motor and valve for opening said valve and then allowing it to close during movement of said motor in one direction, a support for said connecting mechanism, and means whereby fluctuations in the pressure of the fluid controlled by said valve changes the osition of said support, substantially as set orth,

10. In a pressure governor, the combination of a valve, a motor o rated by fluid pressure, connecting mec anism between said motor and valve for opening and closing said valve, a support for said connecting mechanism, and means whereby fluctuations in the lpressure of the fluid controlled by said va ve change the position of said support to alter the positlon of said valve m accordance with such fluctuations of pres- .sure, substantially as set forth.

11. In a pressure governor, the combination of a valve, a motor operated by fluid pressure, lever mechanism connecting said motor to said valve, a fulcrum post for said lever mechanism, and means whereby fluctuations in the pressure controlled by said valve change the position or said fulcrum post to alter the osition of said valve, substantially as set 'orth.

12. The combination with a valve casing and a controlling valve mounted therein, of a ressure chamber comprising a movable wa 1, means for yielding'ly urging said movable wall agalnst the action of pressure withm the pressure chamber, intermediate connections between the valve and the movable wall for opening and closing the valve b op osite movements of the movable wall: an means connected with said intermediate connectlons for producing a closing movement of the valve by an excessive movement of the pressure chamber wall in the valve opening direction;

13. The combination with a valve casing and a controllin valve mounted therein, of a-pressure cham er comprising a movable wall, means for yieldingly urging said movable wall against the action of pressure within the pressure chamber, intermediate connections between the valve and the movable wall for opening and closing the'valve by opposite movements of the movable wall, and means for producing a. closing movement of the valve by an excessive movement of the pressure chamber'wall in the valve opening direction.

14. The combination with a valve casing and a controlling valve mounted therein, of an operating member engaging the valve to open and close the same, a pressure chamber having a movable wall, means for normally urging said movable wall in a direction opposite to the force within the pressure chamber, a connection between the valve operat ing member and the movable wall to open and close the valve by opposite movements of the movable wall, a secondary connection between the valve operating member and the movable wall, and means cooperating with said secondary connection upon an excessive movement of the movable wall in the valve opening direction to reverse the effect of said movable wall upon the valve operating .member. 15. In a pressure governor for pumping engines, the combination of a valve controlling the sup ly of motive fluid to the engine, a pressure chamber communicatin with the discharge of the pump 0 erated y the engine and having a mova 1e wall yielding resistance means acting upon said movable wall in opposition to the pressure within said chamber, and mechanical connections between said movable wall and said valve through which opposite movements of said wall within a predetermined ran e respectively open and close said Valve an through which beyond such range the same movements respectively close and open said valve.

GEORGE M. RICHARDS. Witnesses F. P. Com, GEO. M. LYLE. 

